Tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world after water, and India is the world’s second-largest producer of tea. It takes back-breaking efforts from tea workers to deliver that flavorful cup of tea. The Indian tea industry is the country’s second-largest organized workforce.
However, the life of tea workers is not one’s cup of tea. They are faced with an uncertain future with low wages and health hazards due to demanding working conditions.
Every parent wishes for their progeny to have a better life than theirs.
Like all parents, tea estate workers also aspire to provide the best education for their children, but due to financial restraints and the tea gardens in most cases being in remote geographical areas with no access to good schools, education takes a back seat.
The Pilot Project- TEAch Me
VAHDAM Teas, a home-grown Indian tea & superfood brand for the world, has partnered with the world’s most valued Edtech BYJU’S, to honor this aspiration of tea workers.
#Educationforall an initiative by BYJU’S that promotes inclusive education has joined hands with TEAch Me, a Social Initiative from VAHDAM Teas. The aim to facilitate the education of about 1000 students from 8 to 10 tea estates in Darjeeling.
Both the partners aim to reach out to 20 estates benefiting more than 2000 students by the end of this academic year.
The Impact
By the end of 2025, BYJU’S and VAHDAM together hope to benefit more than 50,000 children across tea plantations all over India.
Benefits of Going Digital
Most tea estates are located on hill slopes and valleys between 900 to 1800 m above sea levels. Access to schools and other education infrastructure is scarce in these parts. Going digital can help bring world-class learning content of BYJU’S to their doorstep. The children will have access to lessons from the best of teachers across India.
Possible Roadblocks
The Language Barrier:
Tea cultivation in India is concentrated in the North-Eastern, Southern, and North-Western regions where local languages like Assamese, Bengali, Nepali, Tamil are the lingua franca. English based e-learning content can make learning difficult for children in these regions. The possible solution would be to make learning content available in the languages that these children understand best. The team at BYJU’S can pull this off as their learning content is already available in prominent Indian languages.
Connectivity:
The geography of tea estates makes it difficult to access reliable internet. However, using an offline learning model (example: BYJU’S tablet with content loaded in SD cards) can help overcome this roadblock.
Our Take on This
It is heartening to see that EdTech companies like BYJU’s and tea companies like VAHDAM think beyond routine CSR activities and take initiatives to “make a difference” in the lives of people. Inclusive education, inclusive growth, and uplifting the most disadvantaged people in society by ensuring that they get access to quality education certainly is a noble gesture.
